Seth Meyers Still Leading “Kelly” Co-Host Candidate Despite Timid Brush Off
Seth Meyers is very much the leading candidate to succeed Regis Philbin on “Live with Kelly” despite his timid denials today. Meyers is on every day this week in the middle of July sweeps. He’s the only candidate to get a full Monday-Friday shot. He’s terrific, too. I’ve never seen someone so confident and poised–he’s also very funny. Ripa and Michael Gelman will be lucky to get him. And there’s no one else. Next week singer Josh Groban returns for three days, followed by Kristen Chenoweth and rock star Rob Thomas of matchbox twenty.
After that “Live!” goes on hiatus until Labor Day. There are no more co-hosts. Meyers was given the primo spot to show off in, and he’s doing an excellent job. Today’s report in the Florida Sun Sentinel doesn’t have him denying it, just sort of brushing off the question. My guess is he’ll continue to do the news at “Saturday Night Live” through the presidential election, but step down as head writer.
All of this will disappoint The Hollywood Reporter. They were very fast to reprint the Sentinel quotes, and quote this column as if to prove us wrong. It’s hilarious. They never give credit or a link for anything positive. But the Meyers story is pretty right on. And good for Seth. He can five years there, be 43, and ready for a spot on a nighttime talk show.
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.
Mabel
A morning slot such as this is perfect for Meyers! He is undeniably poised and intelligent without pandering. Now if only Ripa would move on… She may be a nice lady but she clearly cannot carry a show as lead host. The smart move would have been to exit (while still on top) with Regis, and ride the wave of goodwill into the next phase of her career.
David B.
Yes, Meyers is so smart and funny. He absolutely killed at the White House correspondents dinner. Nobody ever skewered Trump so well! I definitely vote for Meyes to join Ripa. Go Seth!